


Angel

by Oilux



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Death, M/M, angel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-02
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2017-12-25 09:36:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/951544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oilux/pseuds/Oilux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Contrary to popular belief, there are no ghosts and ghouls haunting us. There are only angels who have been cast out of heaven and yet are not welcome in hell. Matthew Williams is one of those poor souls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

To say that his life was turned around was to say the least. Well it wasn't really his life anymore. He was an angel, so he no longer had a life. He was common angel, not special, as he had done nothing extraordinary in his life. He looked just like he had the day before he died, with blonde slightly curled hair and one random hair that would always stick out. Matthew had small white wings, which would fold against his back so neatly that some would think that they weren't even there.

Matthew had been in heaven for a long time. He couldn't really remember his life before because it had been so long. He didn't really have any friends in heaven, but he had his polar bear cub, Kumajiro, which he had found wandering all by itself. Matthew had taken Kumajiro in, and ever since then they had been inseparable.

Yet now Matthew had been torn from his calm and quiet life in heaven. He was in front of the ground council, being questioned and put on trial for something. Matthew wasn't even sure what he was being charged with. He was so scared, clutching his polar bear and trying not to cry as he felt everyone on the council stare at him.

"Matthew Williams, do you understand the charges brought against you?" The loud voice boomed, making the small angel with his polar bear flinch.

"I-I understand, but-"

"I will not hear your back talk! I did not ask for your opinion, only that you understood. Remain quiet until we address you," the archangel said. Mathew looked at his feet, giving a small nod to show that he understood.

Matthew Williams, a small angel stood before the high council of archangels, awaiting his new destiny. He would be either found guilty and cast out of heaven, or be innocent and remain in heaven. He didn't even know why he was being put to trial like this. He hadn't done anything since he had arrived, and if his past had been bad he would have been sent to hell. Matthew clutched his tighter to his polar bear, Kumajiro, as he heard them mutter words of hell and casting him out.

"Matthew Williams we have decided to hear your side," Gabriel suddenly said, making Matthew jump.

"Um, my side of what exactly?"

"You tell me that no one explained why you were here?" Matthew meekly nodded.

"There have been allegations that you have been conspiring with Satan to overthrow heaven."

"W-what? I would never!"

"It is no matter anymore. After thinking it through more, I have decided that it is just too much of a risk to have you here any longer. Matthew Williams you are no longer welcome in heaven," Gabriel stood, slamming his hands down on the table in front of him. Matthew felt tears begin to form in his eyes.

"No, please no," Matthew whispered. Kumajiro looked up and started to lick the tears, trying to offer some comfort.

"It is no longer your choice. Give me the bear," Kumajiro bit at Gabriel, growling menacingly.

"Fine, keep your bear, but he will never remember you, and you will never be able to remember his name," Gabriel tapped Kumajiro's head, making Kuma fall asleep instantly.

"Now stand here, you shall be cast down to Earth all alone until heaven is ready for you," Gabriel didn't even let Matthew move, he just picked Matthew up and moved him onto a deserted corner of the room. Matthew was trembling in his shoes, more tears falling every second.

"Through the power of God, for the risk and threat of treason on heaven itself, you shall be cast out, never to return. You shall wander the Earth as a body without a soul, until the day that hell is ready for you. Goodbye Matthew Williams, and may God have mercy on your soul," Gabriel said.

Then the door fell out from underneath Matthew, and he fell into tumbling blackness, with only his sleeping bear to keep him company.


	2. Chapter 2

Matthew wandered the streets, where no one would see him even if they could. He had lost track of time down here, the days seemed to blur from one to the other, just a constant show of people ignoring him. He couldn't remember his bears name, but it was the only thing that actually seemed to see him, so Matthew clutched tightly to him, always hoping that one day his bear would remember him and he would remember his bear. Matthew had taken to calling the bear Kuma, just because it was what the bear responded to the best.

Matthew didn't know where he was in the world as well. He knew he was on Earth, just waiting for something. He remembered getting cast out of heaven, but shouldn't he be in hell? Maybe hell realized that he didn't do anything bad, and they just didn't want him. Maybe Matthew would be stuck wandering Earth forever.

It didn't take long for Matthew to find people to follow constantly. They were a fun group of people, one's who constantly argued with each other. It made him laugh to see these people argue so much, never reaching a stable area of talking. Matthew knew everything in the group of people, he knew how Arthur liked Alfred, and how those feelings were returned but both were too stubborn to say something. Matthew knew of the secret love between Feliciano and Ludwig, and how Kiku was seeing the Greek Herakles. Yet even though Matthew knew everyone by heart, none of them knew him. He still busied himself with following them around, laughing at jokes as if he was a part of them, and thinking that Alfred was his brother. It was silly, but it was the only thing keeping Matthew sane.

"Who?" Kuma suddenly asked, breaking Matthew out of his thoughts. Matthew looked down at his adorable little polar bear, sighing.

"I'm Matthew."

The two followed Alfred into the park, where everyone was meeting up. Matthew watched as Alfred went and practically attacked Arthur in a hug, chuckling at the sight. Matthew looked at everyone there, from Ivan harassing Yao to Roderick acting all prissy even in the park. Yet looking around at everyone, Matthew couldn't help but notice that an important part of the bad touch trio was missing, a certain Prussian. A frown crossed Matthew's face for an instant when he noticed, Matthew had always gotten a kick out of the Prussian, and how he was always saying he was 'awesome' always brightened Matthew's nonexistent life.

The albino was weak, being a rarity like that didn't help his immune system that much. Gilbert was known for going into the hospital for a while, and lately even though he was just 19, his stays in the hospital had grown longer and longer. The last time that Gilbert had ended up in the hospital, he ended up there for a month. Matthew worried more and more every time the Prussian went into the hospital.

It was going to be heartbreaking if the other didn't live up to everything that he could. Matthew pushed back his feelings though, he didn't even know what he was anymore, there was no way he would let himself fall in love with a human certain to die.

Matthew pushed the thoughts of Gilbert to the back of his mind, instead trying to focus on the fun everyone else was having. Sure the bad touch trio was missing its third, but otherwise Francis was still a pervert and Antonio still went after Lovino. After an hour Matthew noticed that Ludwig and Feliciano were missing as well, but he said nothing (not like anyone would notice him anyways).

Matthew began singing to himself, something that he hadn't done for a while. He began to sing a French lullaby that he learned back when he was alive.

_Fais dodo Colas mon petit frère,_

_fais dodo, t'auras du lolo_

_maman est en haut, qui fait du gâteau_

_papa est en bas, qui fait du chocolat_

_Fais dodo Colas mon petit frère_

_fais dodo t'auras du lolo._

That was all that he could remember from it, but the words calmed his restlessness. When he was finished, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice that Feliciano had come running up, panting and without Ludwig.

"…you all….have to….come…hospital….Ludwig….Gilbert…." Feliciano managed to say in between breaths. It caught everyone's attention, and by the time he was finished everyone was heading to their cars.

Matthew hitched a ride with Feliciano, knowing that the reckless driver would get to the hospital the fastest. Sure enough, Feliciano got there first with his brother not too far behind him. Feliciano raced up the stairs, and ran straight to where he needed to go, with his brother and the still invisible Matthew right behind him.

Ludwig sat next to a skinny figure, one so pale that he almost blended in with the white sheets. Even then, the bright yellow chick was still perched in his hair, obviously not moving. Ludwig held the pale, limp hand in his, a look of sadness and defeat on his face. Gilbert was breathing steadily, the heart monitor was steady as well, but it was going slower than what should be considered normal.

Matthew listened as they talked, watching Gilbert sleep so peacefully. If it wasn't for the steady fall and rise of his chest, and the heart monitor beeping away, one might think that he was no longer a part of this world. Slowly, everyone else found their way to the room, wondering what was going on and why Gilbert was in the hospital again. Through a broken voice, Ludwig said why they were all there.

"They said that Gilbert is a lot weaker than before, the Doctor said that this time he might not make it…" Ludwig said, his normal harsh voice rough and cracked.

"Oh Gilbert…" Elizabeta said before she ran out of the room, tears on her face. Roderick went after her, knowing how she felt losing one of her best friends.

After enough time, one by one, everyone left. Feliciano even managed to convince Ludwig to leave, saying that he needed his sleep and that Gilbert wasn't due to wake up anytime soon. Matthew stayed though, not wanting to leave the man who had always managed to put a smile on his face.

Matthew stayed awake the entire night, watching over Gilbert. At one point Gilbird woke up and cheeped, but he fell back asleep just as well. Matthew had no need for sleep, so he didn't have any problem with staying awake the entire night. When first dawn broke and Matthew looked at the light shining on Gilbert's face, tears fell down his face, staining his cheeks. He didn't want Gilbert to die.

"Hey…why are you crying?" A voice suddenly said, making Matthew jump. In his surprise Matthew landed on his butt on the floor, Kuma grumbling and Gilbert looking down at him in shock.

"Y-you can see me?" Matthew stuttered out.

"Of course I can. Why?" Gilbert said, his silver head tilted to the side and a look of confusion on his face.

_"Oh God what do I do?"_ Matthew thought to himself, his mind frantically searching for an answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Gilbert Beilschmidt stared down at the boy who had been standing over him. Whoever this kid was, he was staring up at Gilbert with wide blue, almost purple eyes, and a very red face. He seemed shocked by the fact that Gilbert could really see him, as if Gilbert wasn't meant to be there. All Gilbert did was stare at the boy until he was ready to talk.

Kuma grumbled before he crawled back into Matthew's lap, where he promptly fell asleep once again. Matthew was jolted back into reality by the weight suddenly pressing itself into him, and he stared up into Gilberts crimson eyes.

"I'm Matthew," somehow the words came out of Matthew's mouth before he could stop them. He stared at Gilbert, hoping that he would get a reply life before.

"Gilbert, but I'm guessing you already know the awesome me since you're here," Gilbert's eyes sparkled, and Matthew couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"So tell me Mattie, why were you crying over the awesome me?" Gilbert had a cocky grin on his face, but he had a serious look in his eyes. Matthew averted his indigo eyes, suddenly finding the floor much more interesting.

Gilbert stared down at Matthew, still sitting on the floor and his face slowly growing red as he tried to think of a reason for his actions. Gilbert couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of a frantic Matthew, clinging to the polar bear and biting his lip. For the first time since Gilbert woke up and saw Matthew there, Gilbert took in Matthew's appearance. He was wearing a dark red hoodie, with baggy blue jeans and sneakers. Glasses adorned his face, making it look narrow. He had light blonde hair that was wavy like Gilbert's friend Francis, and there was one stray curl that Gilbert just wanted to put back into place.

Gilbert broke out of his thoughts when he Matthew coughed awkwardly. Gilbert realized that he had been staring at the young boy. Gilbert just smiled though, and was relieved when Matthew shyly smiled back.

"So why, um, are you in the hospital?" Matthew said, trying to break the silence that seemed to fall upon them.

"I just get sick a lot, why? You worried about the awesome me?" Gilbert laughed at how Matthew blushed a million shades of red.

"Calm down Mattie, geeze. I'll be fine. I get sick all the time, just you wait, before you know it, I'll be out of here and back to my awesome self."

Gilbert smiled at Matthew, who had sat back down into his seat, which seemed that it was much more comfortable than the floor. They talked for hours and hours, long after the sun had risen and set. Gilbert would have never admitted it, but it was great to have company instead of just lying there and watching crappy television. The nurses would come in occasionally to check on him and give him more medicine, and at times to bring him his meals. Matthew never got anything to eat, but he did watch Gilbert and stayed with him the entire day.

"So Mattie, I've been blathering on for hours. Aren't you getting sick of hearing me talk yet?" Gilbert asked, looking as if he was trying to be serious. Matthew just smiled.

"I don't mind Gilbert, your life is much more interesting than mine," Matthew said.

"If you saw so Mattie," Gilbert said before launching into another rant about how awesome he was.

Eventually Gilbert fell asleep, his sickness and talking all day about himself had taken more energy out of himself than he had thought. As he slept, Matthew stayed by his side, so many emotions gnawing at the inside of him. If Gilbert could see Matthew, a fallen Angel, the Doctors must be right, Gilbert must be doing a lot worse than he let on.

Matthew was torn though. He hadn't felt so good as he did talking to Gilbert. Years of loneliness and depression that had built up from being by himself seemed to disappear. Yet for as long as Gilbert could see him, the closer that he seemed to get to death. Even after this short time of talking to Gilbert, Matthew didn't want him to die.

A nurse came into the room, breaking Matthew out of his thoughts. She looked over at Gilbert and smiled, one of those caring smiles that a mother gets when they look at their child. She came over and checked on Gilbert, making sure he had enough medicine and that he was as comfortable as he could be in the hospital bed.

"You poor boy, you've been talking to yourself all day. I know it's hard, but if anyone can beat the odds and get better, it's you," she said, lightly placing her hand on his. Then she walked out of the room to attend to other patients.

Matthew couldn't help but feel a stab of pain in his heart when the nurse said that Gilbert had been talking to himself. He shouldn't expect the nurse to see him, but after talking to Gilbert who had seen him all day, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pain. Matthew gently reached over and placed his hand on Gilbert's, only to have his hand pass right through. He sighed, thinking that it was worth the effort but all it did was remind him that he wasn't meant to be here on Earth.

Matthew settled back into his seat, waiting for Gilbert to wake up. Maybe exile on Earth isn't so bad, but Matthew knew the only thing that did make it bearable was being able to talk to Gilbert.


	4. Chapter 4

A week later, Gilbert was still in the hospital. While the albino never tried to show it, it was becoming obvious that he wasn't doing as well that everyone had hoped. Matthew stayed with him every moment, from when Gilbert was awake to when he was asleep, never leaving his side. Gilbert seemed to enjoy the company, and Matthew was enjoying being seen for once. It was on that day exactly one week later when Gilbert's friends and family came to visit.

Gilbert instantly lit up the moment they walked through the door. He laughed and joked around and had the biggest smile on his face. Matthew was happy watching his friend laugh and have fun. The past week Gilbert would be out of breath every time he talked for too long, he would have to take longer and longer naps during the day. Yet seeing him here with his friends and laugh and have more fun than he thought possible brought so much joy to Matthew.

"Oi! West, you have to meet Mattie, he's the best. He's been staying with me the entire time that I've been here," Gilbert got a look in his eyes that Matthew hadn't seen before. He couldn't identify it, but it made him blush to the brim of his hair. Vaguely, Matthew saw out of the corner of his eyes, Alfred's head shot up at the mention of his name.

"Who's 'Mattie'? I'm assuming that his name is Matthew then," Ludwig mumbled the last part to himself, but everyone heard him.

"He's this awesome guy. He's been hanging with me since I first got in here; I wonder where he went…" Gilbert said to himself. He looked around, but Matthew had slipped out of the room, so that Gilbert wouldn't seem insane to his friends.

"Maybe we'll see him next time bruder," Ludwig said. Gilbert sighed, but in the end agreed with his brother.

Everyone talked the day away. Matthew sat outside in the hallway, listening to every word they spoke. He was surprised by how many times Gilbert brought him up while talking. He listened to Alfred talk about he was the hero, and Arthur scolding him, Francis being a pervert, Antonio and Lovino doing their love-hate relationship, and Feliciano being his normal past loving self. Eventually though, visiting hours were over and everyone had to leave (thanks to a stuffy old nurse). As soon as they were all gone Matthew went back into Gilbert's room.

"Birdie! Where have you been? Everyone was here and I wanted them to meet you," Gilbert whined, not that he would ever admit that.

"Sorry Gil, and 'Birdie'? Really?" Matthew asked, curious about how this new nickname came to be.

"Yup, Birdie! You remind me of a bird."

Matthew wanted to smack Gilbert for the stupid nickname, but he couldn't bring himself to when he saw the biggest grin he had ever seen on Gilbert's face. It wasn't like he could have if he had wanted to anyways. Just when Matthew was going to say something else, the door opened and someone walked in.

"Hey Gilbert, can we talk for a second?"

It was Alfred, and immediately, Matthew wished he could have fallen through the floor. Alfred didn't even glance at where Matthew was, he just stared at where Gilbert was.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to last long without the awesome me! What's up?" Gilbert exclaimed, smirking like normal.

"Earlier, you mentioned your friend, Matthew; um can you just describe him?" Alfred looked so nervous as he asked, like he was afraid of the answer he was going to receive.

Gilbert glanced to Alfred, and then Matthew, like he was confused that Alfred just didn't look at Matthew himself. But at Matthew's hand movements he just decided to go along with it.

"Well, he has blonde-wavy hair, kind of like Francis' and one curl in front of his face. He has a polar bear, and he kind of stutters sometimes," Gilbert explained slowly.

A so many emotions ran through Alfred's face when Gilbert explained what Matthew looked like. It was grief, sorrow, regret, and just a bit of caution. Matthew felt like something was going on that he didn't know about, and Gilbert looked just as confused as he did.

"Thanks Gilbert," Alfred muttered before he began to walk out the door.

"Wait! Why don't you just as Mattie yourself? He's sitting right there," Gilbert claimed as he pointed to where Matthew was sitting. Alfred whipped back around with hope in his eyes, but to him, there was no one there. To Alfred, where Matthew was is just an empty seat.

"There's no one there Gilbert," Alfred chocked out, his voice loss of its normal cheerful tone, and walked out.

"What's he talking about Birdie? How come he couldn't see you?" Gilbert asked Matthew, but Matthew wasn't there anymore. Gilbert huffed, but he couldn't do anything. Figured Matthew would pick a time like this to disappear again.

Matthew couldn't answer the only man who could see him because he was busy following the man who was asking about him. Matthew was following Alfred, wanting to know the answers to some of his questions.


	5. Chapter 5

"Iggy, I'm home!" Alfred shouted when he had finally reached home. It had seemed to take forever to reach there in Matthew's mind, but really it had probably only been about 20 minutes.

Wait, when did Alfred move in with Arthur? He had known that the two were always close, but hadn't known that they had moved in together. Matthew's sense of time seemed to get more and more warped by the day. He counted the days by which the sun rose and set, not like normal humans did. He had never even felt a need to keep track of time until he had been cast down on Earth. There was just no sense of time in Heaven, since those things just didn't matter anymore. For all Matthew knew, he could have been in heaven for a thousand years or just a month and he would have never been able to tell.

Back to business though. when had Arthur moved in with Alfred? The last that he had heard, they had been close at best, but nothing more than that. How long had he been away from Alfred in the hospital? Had Gilbert really been away that long? Matthew had stuck to Alfred's side when he had been cast out of heaven, just knowing that this was a person that he should follow.

"What did Gilbert say?" Arthur came from the kitchen, the smell of his famous burnt scones following him like the smell always did. Matthew couldn't smell it from where he was, but he could tell the moment that the scent hit Alfred's nose by the way his nose crinkled.

"It's him Arthur, I know it is."

"What did Gilbert say?" Arthur tried asking again.

"He described him exactly. Really Arthur, it's got to be Mattie," Alfred sounded so pleading, like he wanted to believe the words he was saying but just couldn't.

"Matthew died Alfred. I know it's hard and I hate being blunt, but he died and Matthew's not here anymore."

Matthew watched with his jaw askew as tears formed in the hero's eyes, and he clung to Arthur. A large part of him believed that they were talking about him, but another more reasonable part of his brian screamed at him that they couldn't be talking about him. He had been in heaven for to long. There was no way that Alfred was talking about him.

But as he watch Alfred cling to Arthur and cry, he let himself hope that Alfred was shedding tears over him. As horrible as it sounded, Matthew always wondered if people missed him after he died, and if people cried over him. It was hard for people to remember their lives in heaven, it was to stop people from grieving over the loss of having to leave their loved ones and wonder about them. Matthew was one of the few who couldn't remember a thing about his life. Normally, people always had one to two memories and when all their loved one's joined them they would remember the rest.

Matthew left the crying pair that had moved to the couch, and went upstairs. He could see the heavy foot traffic in the hallway. Kumajiro, who Matthew had totally forgotten that he was holding, started to squirm in his arms, wanting to be let down. Matthew let Kuma go onto the floor, where the bear went down the hallway, looking back to see if Matthew would follow or not. When Matthew tried not to move, the bear would just sit down and refuse to move. So Matthew followed the bear until they reached the end of the hallway, where there was a door that looked like it hadn't been opened in years. Kuma walked right through the door, knowing that this time Matthew would follow back. Matthew went through the door as well, for once glad that he had some spiritual powers.

The room was dark, but some sunlight poured through the window that's blinds weren't closed. Dust floated in the air, and the room smelled of age. Kuma stared at him as he walked through the room, but didn't say anything. There was a red and white bed sheet on the bed, not even made. But the thing that stuck out the most was that over everything, there was a thin layer of dust. On the wall was a faded but still in good shape Canadian flag, and the walls were painted red as well. There was a picture frame on the bedside table.

It was a picture of himself, Matthew, with Alfred. Both had really big smiles on their faces and their arms were slung around each other's shoulders. He wore a red hoodie, while Alfred wore a jersey for some team. At just a glance they looked like twins, but there were so many small details that separated them from each other. Matthew couldn't stop staring at the photograph that seemed to mean so much in just a short amount of time.

"Who are you?" Kuma's voice cut through Matthew's thoughts, bringing him down from his world far above.

* * *

"I'm... never mind. Let's get back to the hospital," Matthew said, his quiet voice quieter than normal, before he picked Kuma up and left the room covered in dust.

The walk back to the hospital seemed to pass in one big blur. People walked right through him, and Matthew walked right through traffic without a second thought. He was a spirit, but he hated it when people or things went right through him. It gave him a weird feeling, as if he was being violated.

Though before he could notice, he was already back in the hospital. Gilbert wasn't in his room, so Matthew just sat down in the chair that he always did, thinking that it would be better just to wait until someone brought the albino back. Kuma sat on the floor, enjoying the cold and falling asleep in seconds, snoring lightly.

"Birdie!" Gilbert's voice cut through Matthew's thoughts, bringing him down from reality. Gilbert stood in the doorway, a nurse supporting him, and the biggest grin ever on his face.

"Hey Gilbert," Matthew replied back in his normal quiet voice.

"Where did you go Birdie?"

"You know, out and about."

"Ksesesese you say about aboot," Gilbert snickered.

"Oh ya like I haven't heard that one before," Matthew sighed, but he still had a smile on his face. "Why don't you tell me when Birdie started?" Matthew hadn't brought it up before and now seemed like the perfect time to.

"Ummm, well..."

"Are you blushing?"

"No! I'm to awesome to do something so girly like blush."

"Sure Gilbert, sure you are."


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, the doctors deemed Gilbert well enough to go outside and walk around there. Gilbert was overjoyed, and Matthew was happy for him. As soon as the doctors left, Gilbert practically jumped out of bed and walked right out of the door, almost leaving Matthew behind.

Together they walked around the hospital, letting Gilbird get some fresh air and enjoying the sounds from real life instead of the hospital sounds that they were used to.

Gilbert had dropped the subject about where Matthew had gone, and for that Matthew was grateful. Of course there was still that feeling of curiosity in the air, but Matthew refused to say anything and Gilbert wasn't going to bring it up. Instead they walked around while Gilbert told Matthew all about the adventures that he, Antonio, and Francis had. Every story was more crazy than the last, and all of them made Matthew laugh.

"So then, Lovino goes right up to Francis, pours his drink over Francis' head, and then makes out with Antonio. All the while Francis is there soaking wet with alcohol, then when Antonio and Lovino break apart the entire bar breaks out clapping. It was hilarious!" Gilbert yelled the last part, making people turn but he was to busy laughing to notice. Matthew could barely contain his laughter as well, his chest hurting from the strain of it.

Yet no matter how many funny stories that Gilbert told him or what Gilbird did to prank the surrounding people, Matthew just couldn't shake the thoughts about that happened at Alfred's house. Could it be possible that him and Alfred were brothers? Well, it was possible in a way. His sense of time was warped, and he couldn't remember a thing about his life. Yet Alfred knew his name, there was that room covered in dust, and finally that picture. If it hadn't been for that picture, then Matthew wouldn't even be considering any of this, but the other person in that picture had to be him.

"Birdie? Quit zoning out on the awesome me!" Gilbert's sharp voice brought Matthew out of his thoughts.

"Hm? Sorry Gilbert, I was just thinking."

"Well quit that! It's unawesome."

Matthew chuckled at the overused word of 'awesome', but tried his best to pay attention to what Gilbert was going on about this time. something about how it was annoying how Kuma couldn't remember his name and how Gilbird was such a better pet than Kuma. As soon as he realized just what Gilbert was talking about, he argued harder than he probably had in his entire life.

"Tssh, whatever birdie," Gilbert pouted. Matthew had made the argument that even if Kunma couldn't remember anything about them, he could still talk, which was better than that 'piyo' sound that Gilbird made.

"What Gil? Mad you lost?" Matthew teased.

"I'm not! I'm just letting you think that you won for now," Gilbert yelled, his face heating up lightly. Matthew chuckled.

"Of course~" Matthew sang. Gilbert felt his face get even more red.

"What! It's true, I'm totally telling the tru-" Gilbert cut off as coughs racked his body, making him fall heavily back into his seat. Matthew was immediately at his side, fluttering around him like a mother hen. After what felt like forever, his coughs began to fade and slowly dimmed until he was panting, trying to regain his breath.

"Gil? Are you okay? Should I get someone?" Matthew asked rapidly, his hands waving around him. Gilbert didn't look at him though.

"No, I'm fine. They'll just make me lay back down and I'm to awesome for that," Gilbert said in a rough voice that sounded whispery like Matthew's. Matthew still looked frantic though, glancing from him to the hospital and back again.

"Are you sure? I can go and-"

"No Matthew! I'm fine, just sit back down." Gilbert let out harshly. Matthew sat back down on the bench like a puppy dog.

A million and one thoughts ran through Matthew's head when Gilbert said that to him. All he could think was that maybe he had overstepped some kind of boundary, and that Gilbert could have been a military leader. His harsh tone left no room for argument in whatever they were talking about. Matthew suddenly understood why no matter how much he goofed around, Ludwig would always listen to what he had to say.

"I'm sorry..." Matthew muttered, just loudly enough for Gilbert to hear him.

Red eyes looked at the blonde in confusion as Matthew got up. Matthew roughly picked Kumajiro and began to walk away. He could hear Gilbert calling for him to come back, but he didn't hear the word sorry emerge from the albino's lips. Matthew just kept walking, using all his willpower not to look back and fall for those red eyes that could make him do anything.

"Verdammit! Matthew! Will you stop!" Screamed behind him. Matthew jumped about a foot in the air.

Matthew turned around just in time to feel Gilbert pass right through him.


	7. Chapter 7

Gilbert froze on his place on the ground. He stared at the ground with wide red eyes, his chest still heaving from his short bout of running. He could feel his palms burning from where they scraped against the ground in an effort to catch him from his fall. He looked at both his hands and saw droplets of blood beginning to ooze out, but he ignored it. He turned himself over, so that he was still sitting but facing Matthew instead of lying on the ground.

Matthew looked like a gaping fish. His mouth was hanging open and even Kuma looked surprised by what had just happened. Gilbird fluttered down tweeting, and landed in Gilbert's hair and made a nest in it. While the action that the small bird did wasn't much, it was enough to rouse Gilbert from his trance and back to the real world.

"You know, when they first told me I was sick I asked if there was any side effects. They said that if I ever got really sick like I am now, that I would begin to see hallucinations and that a lot of the things that I thought I saw really weren't there," Gilbert paused and Matthew opened his mouth to speak but Gilbert began to talk once again, "now everything makes sense, I knew that having someone as almost as awesome as me would be to good to true."

Gilbert pushed himself up and began to walk back to the hospital. They said that if he ever had hallucinations that he needed to tell him, because they had medication for it. It would be just another pill to take during the day. He felt his left ankle burn with every step he took, but he refused to let it show, even though with every step it got worse and worse.

"Gilbert! Gilbert please! I'm not a hallucination! Just listen!" Matthew yelled as loudly as he could in his whispery voice. He even tried to stop Gilbert by grabbing him, but his hands just passed through him no matter how hard he tried.

"Oh yes, let's all listen to a figment of my imagination explain to me how they're real! Tell me Matthew, if I go and get a nurse, would she be able to see and hear you?" Matthew couldn't respond. Gilbert scoffed and started walking again.

"Dammit Gilbert! Now listen here and listen good. I am not a hallucination. I'm dead."

"How can you be dead?" Gilbert yelled back in exasperation.

"I died, I can't remember how. I went to heaven and while I was there they said that they had evidence that I was conspiring against them or something like that. It's getting harder for me to remember. It wasn't true, but they still banished me from heaven, but I guess hell isn't ready for me, because here I am. I've been wandering Earth for a while, until I came across your friends and stuck to them like glue. Then you got sick and you can see me," Matthew explained all in one rush.

"So your telling me all this, and expect me to believe it?" Gilbert asked, staring at the blonde that he knew no one else would see.

"...yes I do."

Gilbert turned around and walked back into the hospital, where he told the nurse what happened and they treated his scraped palms and hurt ankle, and finally gave him the medication for his hallucinations. Gilbert swallowed it without complaint, but he couldn't help but be a bit sad that he wouldn't see the blonde haired man that had kept him company.

Matthew didn't move when Gilbert walked away, and he didn't do anything to stop the albino. He didn't know what to do to convince Gilbert that this was all real, but he knew that he had to do something. He moved back to the bench where he and Gilbert had been sitting at not ten minutes before, when everything was okay. Kuma crawled out of his lap, moving in the direction that Gilbert had gone.

"Where are you going?" Matthew asked the small bear confusedly. Kuma turned his head, but kept padding along.

"Have to watch over red eyes. He's not doing to well," Kuma replied in his high pitched voice.

There was nothing that Matthew could have done to change his bears mind. he watched the bear trot through the grass that didn't bend when he stepped on it, and as watched until his bear walked right through the walls to get to where Gilbert was. Matthew knew that Gilbert wouldn't see Kuma until Kuma wanted to Gilbert to see him. His bear could actually be very stubborn like that.

Matthew thought for a while on that bench, before finally came up with some semblance of a plan that might actually work to get Gilbert to realize that he was telling the truth. When the sun began sinking into the sky, he began to walk through the clearing streets that he knew would lead him to the right place.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a short but brisk walk to his destination. If he had been trying to pay attention to time he would have realized that it was longer than he thought. By the time that he reached Alfred's house, the last of the suns rays had settled and the stars were beginning to emerge from the sky. He walked through the front door of the house, seeing Alfred and Arthur laying together on the couch snuggling.

Matthew didn't even hesitate as he walked right up to Alfred, kneeling down so that his mouth was equal to Alfred's ear. If there was one thing that he had learned in his time of exile, he had learned that by whispering into people's ears, he could make them have urges to do anything he said. 9 time out of 10 it worked, and they would do whatever hair brained suggestion that he came up with. Every once and while though, there would be that one person who just couldn't seem to hear him.

"Talk about Matthew, tell Arthur about him," Matthew whispered, watching as Alfred went from watching the television to watching to ceiling.

"Artie, I miss Mattie. I wish he was here to make me pancakes," Alfred said not ten seconds after Matthew asked him to. Arthur murmured something in agreement, to involved in whatever show he was watching.

"How are you related to him?" Matthew asked, he couldn't stop the questions now that he began. For all he knew, Alfred might not be able to hear him tomorrow.

"I'll never have another brother like him..." Alfred trailed off, and Matthew fell right onto his butt from his knelt position.

 _'Brother...I had a brother...'_ Matthew thought, his mind already coming up with senarios that he and Alfred could and probably did together. After a couple more moments of thought, he began to talk to Alfred again.

"What about other family?" Matthew hoped that they would be close to here, his plan would only work if there was someone else beside's Alfred that was related to him.

"Mom and Dad never seemed to care about him. I was more of a parent to him that Mom and Dad ever were," Matthew felt a pang at realizing that Alfred probably raised him, "and you know Artie, you never complained about how much Francis was around him."

"That's because he was Matthew's cousin! No matter how me we argued those two were close. I think that Francis was Matthew's only friend besides that one creepy guy Ivan that was on the hockey team with him," Arthur said angrily at first, but by the end his voice had softened like voices do when they talk about something sad. Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, Francis was the perfect person for this plan. Everything was going great, now he just had to find a way to Francis' house.

Matthew had learned all that he needed to know. He was sure that even if he tried, he couldn't have made either of them talk anymore. So he settled down of the floor, and watched what they were watching on television. It was something about a doctor and time travel and it sounded like one of Arthur's British shows that he liked so much. Matthew couldn't pay attention to it at all, he was to busy thinking about the new information that he had learned about his life.

He had a brother, he had a life. he had been on the hockey team when he was alive, and his brother had been there for him always. There was so much that he still didn't know about his past self, but he liked to think that he was happy while he was alive. He thought about all the things that he and Alfred could have done together, and all the amazing trips and adventures that he could have had with him. Most though, he thought about how he died and what could have happened that day.

Eventually, Arthur and Alfred went to bed, and Matthew was left to his thoughts in the dark.

For a while, Matthew just sat there, his arms wrapped around himself as he thought about how much he wanted his bear. His thought though, had a mind of their own and would always return to how he could have possibly died. Maybe a hockey accident or he fell off something. He went through every option in his head, but his mind lingered on suicide. It seemed impossible, sure he apparently hadn't had a lot of friends, but would he have really been that desperate? It's not like he would have gotten denied from heaven if he had, there were plenty of people that had killed themselves but were in heaven. He wanted to cross it out, but he just couldn't be sure that he didn't do something like that.

After to much time for his comfort, the sun finally began to rise and he could hear them beginning to move around upstairs. He traveled upstairs as Arthur went downstairs yawning and his messy hair even more so that usual. Matthew found Alfred almost dressed and placing his shirt over his head. Matthew went up and began to whisper in his ear once again.

"You need to go and visit Francis today. You have to go and visit Francis today Alfred," Matthew circled around Alfred like a hawk staring at its prey. Alfred hesitated for a second, his eyes burning in confusion. Then he finished putting his shirt on and went downstairs. Matthew felt worry pang in his heart, maybe Alfred had grown immune to Matthew's persuasiveness.

"Artie! You are gonna hate me, but let's go visit Francis today," Alfred exclaimed as soon as he found Arthur sitting in the kitchen and reading the morning paper. Arthur shot him a glare.

"Bloody hell, don't yell so early in the morning! I'm not going anywhere, go and visit the frog if you want to but don't drag me into it," Arthur growled out and then went back to reading. Alfred shrugged and grabbed a piece of toast before heading out the door.

"Whatever you say babe, I'll be back soon."

Arthur idly waved as Alfred went out the door and started heading towards his car, Matthew right on his heels.


	9. Chapter 9

Neither of the two said anything either, not when the nurse came in to give Gilbert his medication, and not even when Gilbert fell asleep. Matthew was determined not to lose this bout of quietness that had somehow merged into a contest of who could stay quieter the longest. Though it took restraint of all of Matthew's morals and will, he didn't tell Gilbert 'good night' until the young albino man had fallen asleep.

Even though Gilbert had fallen asleep at nine at night, which Matthew considered unusually early for someone like Gilbert, Gilbert didn't wake until about noon the next day. Matthew was patient though, and waited his time that he knew would lead up to a conversation with Gilbert that he needed to have. Despite how much the amount of sleep that Gilbert now needed was worrying him. It's not like Matthew would have been able to do anything about it anyways. So instead to bide his time while Gilbert and Kumajiro were sleeping, Matthew practiced his trick that had grown rusty while he had been busy trying to get Gilbert back in his good graces.

"Matthew?" Gilbert's voice cut through Matthew's thoughts suddenly, making him jump. Matthew turned to Gilbert with a blush on his face and hands wringing in his lap. Matthew felt a bit of pride well up in his chest at the fact that it was Gilbert who spoke first.

"I thought you would have left," Gilbert said, his voice tired and croaking. He sounded so weak. It had just been a day or two since Matthew had seen him! They had been outside and walking around! Gilbert couldn't have gotten so sick so fast. There had to be more time.

"I didn't want to leave," Matthew said simply. Kuma crawled up from the floor and onto the bed where Gilbert lay. He curled up at the end of the bed. A silence descended over them, but unlike before when they had been ignoring each other, this silence was comfortable.

"What was it like to die?" Gilbert asked suddenly. Matthew started, wondering how the question had appeared above all others. Matthew thought carefully about his reply.

"Don't you do that, Gil. Don't start asking questions like that. You are going to be fine, and healthy, and you'll live a lot longer than I did," Matthew responded back, tearing up a bit. He didn't know where the words came from, but they felt so right, as if he couldn't say anything else that would have been more perfect at this moment.

"Sure Matthew, sure," Gilbert said. Another silence, but this time, it was more awkward than the last.

"How did you end up here then? Because my other question obviously wasn't that awesome," Gilbert broke the silence for a third time in a row.

"I was in Heaven, and they thought that I was conspiring against them. I don't really remember anything else, and I must not have been there long if people down here still remember me. I wasn't doing anything wrong there, and apparently I'm not bad enough to go to Hell either, so I'm just wandering. You're the first person that has ever seen me," Matthew tried to remember everything he could, but it was hard for him to remember things before Gilbert had come around. Matthew had no purpose then, so he didn't bother paying attention to things.

"Do you remember dying?" Gilbert asked. Matthew shot him a look but responded anyways.

"No," he said shortly.

Questions halted as a nurse came in and changed the IV, along with some medicine that Gilbert swallowed without complaint. Matthew stared at the man before him. He didn't seem to be the same Gilbert. Where was the mentions of 'awesome'? Where was the fight and the refusal of medicine because he was to awesome to take it? Matthew knew that it was good that Gilbert knew that he wasn't really alive, but he wondered if it was his fault that Gilbert was so sick like this when he had been doing so much better before he had known.

"Stop that," Gilbert said once the nurse left. Matthew arched an eyebrow.

"Stop what?"

"That. Your thinking. I know you're thinking about me, you have that look that everyone gets when they think about me. I've lasted longer than the Doctors ever said that I would anyways. So you don't have to worry. Either I'll get better or...I won't. Simple as that," Gilbert had started out cocky, like his previous self but by the end he just sounded sad.

"You'll get better Gil, I know you will," Matthew said resolutely, offering up a smile. Gilbert grinned back in return.

It felt like nothing more needed to be said. They sat together, watched bad television and listened to the radio that Gilbert was lucky enough to have in his room. Kuma slept at the foot of the bed, not even moving when Matthew had managed to wake him up. That bear just did not want to get up from Gilbert, and Matthew just didn't have the will power to wake him up/

It was eight o'clock.


	10. Chapter 10

Neither of the two said anything either, not when the nurse came in to give Gilbert his medication, and not even when Gilbert fell asleep. Matthew was determined not to lose this bout of quietness that had somehow merged into a contest of who could stay quieter the longest. Though it took restraint of all of Matthew's morals and will, he didn't tell Gilbert 'good night' until the young albino man had fallen asleep.

Even though Gilbert had fallen asleep at nine at night, which Matthew considered unusually early for someone like Gilbert, Gilbert didn't wake until about noon the next day. Matthew was patient though, and waited his time that he knew would lead up to a conversation with Gilbert that he needed to have. Despite how much the amount of sleep that Gilbert now needed was worrying him. It's not like Matthew would have been able to do anything about it anyways. So instead to bide his time while Gilbert and Kumajiro were sleeping, Matthew practiced his trick that had grown rusty while he had been busy trying to get Gilbert back in his good graces.

"Matthew?" Gilbert's voice cut through Matthew's thoughts suddenly, making him jump. Matthew turned to Gilbert with a blush on his face and hands wringing in his lap. Matthew felt a bit of pride well up in his chest at the fact that it was Gilbert who spoke first.

"I thought you would have left," Gilbert said, his voice tired and croaking. He sounded so weak. It had just been a day or two since Matthew had seen him! They had been outside and walking around! Gilbert couldn't have gotten so sick so fast. There had to be more time.

"I didn't want to leave," Matthew said simply. Kuma crawled up from the floor and onto the bed where Gilbert lay. He curled up at the end of the bed. A silence descended over them, but unlike before when they had been ignoring each other, this silence was comfortable.

"What was it like to die?" Gilbert asked suddenly. Matthew started, wondering how the question had appeared above all others. Matthew thought carefully about his reply.

"Don't you do that, Gil. Don't start asking questions like that. You are going to be fine, and healthy, and you'll live a lot longer than I did," Matthew responded back, tearing up a bit. He didn't know where the words came from, but they felt so right, as if he couldn't say anything else that would have been more perfect at this moment.

"Sure Matthew, sure," Gilbert said. Another silence, but this time, it was more awkward than the last.

"How did you end up here then? Because my other question obviously wasn't that awesome," Gilbert broke the silence for a third time in a row.

"I was in Heaven, and they thought that I was conspiring against them. I don't really remember anything else, and I must not have been there long if people down here still remember me. I wasn't doing anything wrong there, and apparently I'm not bad enough to go to Hell either, so I'm just wandering. You're the first person that has ever seen me," Matthew tried to remember everything he could, but it was hard for him to remember things before Gilbert had come around. Matthew had no purpose then, so he didn't bother paying attention to things.

"Do you remember dying?" Gilbert asked. Matthew shot him a look but responded anyways.

"No," he said shortly.

Questions halted as a nurse came in and changed the IV, along with some medicine that Gilbert swallowed without complaint. Matthew stared at the man before him. He didn't seem to be the same Gilbert. Where was the mentions of 'awesome'? Where was the fight and the refusal of medicine because he was to awesome to take it? Matthew knew that it was good that Gilbert knew that he wasn't really alive, but he wondered if it was his fault that Gilbert was so sick like this when he had been doing so much better before he had known.

"Stop that," Gilbert said once the nurse left. Matthew arched an eyebrow.

"Stop what?"

"That. Your thinking. I know you're thinking about me, you have that look that everyone gets when they think about me. I've lasted longer than the Doctors ever said that I would anyways. So you don't have to worry. Either I'll get better or...I won't. Simple as that," Gilbert had started out cocky, like his previous self but by the end he just sounded sad.

"You'll get better Gil, I know you will," Matthew said resolutely, offering up a smile. Gilbert grinned back in return.

It felt like nothing more needed to be said. They sat together, watched bad television and listened to the radio that Gilbert was lucky enough to have in his room. Kuma slept at the foot of the bed, not even moving when Matthew had managed to wake him up. That bear just did not want to get up from Gilbert, and Matthew just didn't have the will power to wake him up.

It was eight o'clock.


	11. Chapter 11

The television was tuned to a random soap opera that happened to be on. Neither were watching it though, just being in each others company and talking was good enough for them. Gilbert didn't tell Matthew what the Doctors had told him, that he wasn't getting any better. Even though he had been outside and walking around with Matthew just two days earlier, Gilbert had gotten a lot worse in the time between then and now. He didn't want Matthew to worry about him. Gilbert had always known that he wouldn't live very long, but Matthew didn't need to know that.

Or did Gilbert already tell him? Gilbert honestly couldn't remember anymore.

It was eight thirty when Matthew finished telling Gilbert about what he had learned. It must have been hard for Matthew to go and see his old bedroom covered in dust, and to see that people did indeed mourn and remember him, even though Matthew himself couldn't remember. At least, that's what Gilbert thought. He didn't want to worry Matthew anymore than the young man already was.

Gilbert glanced idly at the television, noticing that someone on the drama show had been put into the hospital, and looked about as bad as Gilbert felt. He vaguely wondered if that person was going to live. It was nice though, just laying there with Kuma at his feet, Gilbird on his shoulder, and Matthew's soft voice almost lulling him to sleep. He could feel his breath becoming slower, but he pushed it off to being more relaxed than he ever had been before during his stay at the hospital.

"Gil are you paying attention to me?" Matthew suddenly asked, snapping Gilbert out of his thoughts of his breathing. He glanced at Matthew, waving a hand dismissively.

"Ya, you were talking about your bedroom right? And Alfred?" At least, that's what Gilbert last heard Matthew saying.

"No, that was almost half an hour ago." Gilbert glanced at the clock on the wall. Sure enough, it was five to nine. Gilbert pouted a bit, but tried to think nothing of it.

"I asked you if anyone had visited you while I was gone. Did they?" Matthew tried again. Gilbert could almost feel the worry radiating off the other man, but he didn't want to acknowledge it, to much to deal with right now.

"No one came to visit me while you were gone. I told the nurses to make sure that I didn't get any visitors. Francis must have just sneaked past them," Gilbert answered easily and honestly. He was staring at the television, just in enough time to watch the doctor announce that whoever that character had been in the hospital had died.

 _'Huh,'_ Gilbert thought,  _'I really thought that whoever that was would make it.'_

"Why?" Matthew broke Gilbert out of his thoughts again. He didn't mind though, that quite voice was much better than the news that was going to come on next. Gilbert thought carefully about his answer. He didn't want to admit how torn up he really was at the thought that his Birdie wasn't real. He didn't want to say that though, afraid it would make him look weaker than he already did in a hospital bed. Matthew would have probably loved to hear it though.

"I didn't feel that they deserved my awesome presence." Gilbert spouted the first thing that came to his mind. Matthew looked satisfied, but something inside Gilbert told him that Matthew knew that there was another reason. Yet luckily for Gilbert Matthew didn't push it.

Right on the dot at ten o'clock, the nurse came in to give him his medicine. For the first time in days he joked about taking it, putting up a little fight just long enough for the nurse to smile at him, maybe thinking that he was feeling better. Eventually he swallowed the pills and liquid that she gave him. When Gilbert finally turned back to Matthew, the younger man had a smile on his face.

"Gezze Birdie, it's nice to see you smiling at me flirting with other women," Gilbert said rather loudly. Matthew seemed to blush a million shades of red.

"I-It's not like you can't...or that even I would care," Matthew whispered the last part, but Gilbert could still here it. He could even hear the lie laced in it.

"Calm down Birdie, you look ready to burst a bubble," Gilbert teased, making the younger blush even more. Matthew took a few deep breathes, and before Gilbert could blink Matthew had returned back to his normal pale color.

"Gil? Are you feeling okay? You look a bit green," Matthew said anxiously, he looked ready to go and run and get someone, even though no one would be able to see him anyways. Gilbert's stomach did feel a bit upset from the medicine, but he didn't think very much of it. Now though he felt like he was going to blow any second.

Gilbert barely managed to turn to the side before he was puking his guts out into the container that the nurse had placed there before by the nice nurse. There was nothing in his stomach except the medicine that he had just swallowed. It burned his throat on the way up, and left a nasty taste in his mouth as well. Still he threw up all the acid that had been sitting there, and he kept until he had nothing left and he was just dry heaving. Gilbert could almost feel Matthew fluttering around him. he had never wished for the other man's touch more than right now.

"Oh my God Gil..." Matthew said breathlessly, hands covering his mouth. Gilbert glanced at Matthew, following the other's line of sight down to the vomit that he had just created.

It wasn't clear, or yellow, or even green. No what Gilbert had thrown up was red. A very deep shade that is only associated with one thing that could have come out of his body. There was blood in that bin. He could taste it in his mouth now that everything had settled down, and he could feel some dripping down his chin. With a lot more effort than what should have been needed, Gilbert reached up and brushed away the liquid on his chin. His hand came away stained red.

"I'm fine Birdie. Happens all the time," Gilbert muttered. His voice was hoarse. Of course, what he said was a lie, this was the first time that he had ever thrown up blood. Matthew didn't look too convinced.

"You just puked blood! I highly doubt that it's something that should be considered normal!" Matthew screamed, but with his voice it just came out sounding like a normal pitched voice.

"It's...it's fine Birdie. I'll be just...fine," Gilbert whispered out. Matthew paled even more, almost even more than the pale pallor that always accompanied him.

As if she knew, the nurse came rushing in. Without hesitation she rolled Gilbert onto his back, to reveal that he had landed on the call button. The nurse looked at the monitor, herself getting a bit worked up as she checked Gilbert's vitals by hand. Before Matthew could even think of doing anything, she rushed out as quickly as she had come in.

"Code blue! Every available doctor and nurse to room 212! I repeat Code Blue!"

 _'212, but that's this room,'_ Matthew thought anxiously. Before he could check though doctors and nurses came rushing in.

 _'Please God, I know we haven't talked in a while, and that I have been forsaken, but please let Gilbert live. He deserved to live a long and happy life, even if I'm not in it,'_ Matthew thought as he watched the doctors and nurses begin their work.

It was ten fifteen.

 


	12. Chapter 12

The doctors and nurses worked feverishly, none of them seeing Matthew in the background watching their every move. Matthew was silently praying, but he couldn't keep his eyes from the work that they was doing. They tore his blankets off, shoving them to the floor, and ripped off his hospital gown and exposing the pale flesh to the night air. They had one nurse working the breathing, and they had one of those breathing masks put over his face to make sure that he got proper oxygen. One had a hand on his wrist to watch over the pulse, and another was doing CPR.

Matthew hadn't noticed that his heart rate had flat lined, though he should have known that the sudden stopping of the loud beeping had meant. Matthew felt tears pricking his eyes as he watched the doctors try to revive the only man that had ever been able to see him. He felt a pawing at his leg, and looked down to see Kuma sitting there, looking up at Matthew with big eyes.

"Don't worry Kuma, Gil's gonna be okay," Matthew whispered to the bear, picking him up and cradling Kumajiro as if the bear was his baby. Together they watched what they could, and listened for the return of the heart beat that meant so much to them.

Tears rolled down Matthew's face, but they felt cold on his face, and almost unnatural. They would roll down his face and fall to the floor, but they left no mark on the ground where they landed. Matthew didn't have the heart in him to wipe his face clear of them.

Just as it seems that the doctors and nurses were going to give up, Gilbert took a deep breath, and the heart monitor beeped with a life regained. Matthew let out a sigh of relief from the breath that he had been holding, and almost started crying again from relief. Gilbert's red eyes opened, and for a moment he looked confused but then they closed again and everything seemed to calm.

It was ten thirty.

"Alert his family. This kid will be lucky if he makes it through the night," a doctor said to a nurse on the way out. Matthew just happened to be near them when they said it, and was shocked to hear it. Gilbert had to live, he just had to. A few nurses remained, traveling around him and making sure that everything was okay before they too left.

"Oh Gil..." Matthew whispered to the exhausted form of his best friend. The eyes that once shinned with happiness and overconfidence now seemed dulled and accepting. Something told Matthew that Gilbert knew what was going to happen to him by the end of the night. Matthew still refused to acknowledge it.

"Birdie," Gilbert said back just as quietly, "I can see you more clearly now than I have ever seen you before." Matthew felt more tears fall down his face.

At ten forty Ludwig, along with Feliciano, Francis, and Antonio came barreling through. Ludwig looked more worried than Matthew had ever seen the poor man before, he had his shirt un-tucked, hair in his face, and bags under his eyes. No one else was in better shape, but Ludwig was the one who stood out the most.

"Luddy. It didn't take you long to get here, did it?" Gilbert weakly asked. Ludwig looked ready to cry.

"Nein, bruder I came as fast as I could," Ludwig chocked out. He went to his brothers side, taking Gilbert's hand gently as if he was afraid that Gilbert would break if Ludwig touched him to much.

"It's nice to see you and Feli, and Antonio and Franny. I'm glad that you could come," Gilbert whispered out. Ludwig shook even more, while Antonio held Feliciano who by this point was balling. Matthew was crying as well, but no one could see him other than Gilbert.

"You are going to be fine," Francis said with tears in his eyes as well. Everyone had known that this would happen eventually, but it was a lot harder than they had ever thought it would be.

"Franny you know that that's not true. It's my time." Feliciano began crying even harder.

"Everything hurts guys..." Gilbert said in almost a whimper, as his coughs started again. No one said anything. Matthew couldn't even watch anymore as a harsh sob let out of his chest. Once his coughs died down, Gilbert turned to Matthew.

"Franny, Matthew, your Matthew is here. He's been my best friend while you guys were gone." Gilbert gestured for Matthew to come to his side. "He's right here, go ahead and say something to him." Gilbert looked from Francis to Matthew waiting for Francis to say something, anything. Francis looked so disbelieving, but decided that it couldn't hurt to play along.

"Mattieu, amore, we all miss you," Francis said, openly crying at this point.

"I miss you guys too," Matthew said. He wanted so much to reach down and hold Gilbert's hand. he just couldn't though. Gilbert relayed his message quickly.

"I won't last much longer. You guys are so great, almost as awesome as me. Birdie...my Birdie. I love you," Gilbert said in one last breath. He didn't take another one. Slowly the heart monitor decreased until it finally stopped.

There was silence in the room, only broken by Feliciano's whimpers and sniffles. Gilbert's eyes were still open, staring a dead stare at nothing. Past his own tears and emotions, Matthew used all the sorrow and sadness he felt and did his trick that he had been working on since the moment he had talked to Gilbert. He reached forward with his hand and closed Gilbert's eyes. He felt drained immediately afterwords, but it filled him with a small sense of accomplishment to know that he succeeded. No one else in the room seemed to notice his action.

"Birdie?" Antonio finally asked. No one even glanced at him.

"It was the imaginary friend that he had been talking to. It was the first sign to the doctors that he had taken a turn for the worse. Still though, I had never seen him more happy than when he was talking to or about that 'Birdie' of his," Ludwig said as he pulled the cover that Gilbert had been under over his head.

Nothing more was said, and yet no one moved, Feliciano was still crying on Antonio, while Antonio himself let no tears fall. Francis wept openly, while Ludwig was letting a few tears fall now and then. While no one could see it, Matthew was a sobbing mess on the floor. Kuma did his best to comfort his friend and master, but nothing the bear did worked. Gilbert's time of death was ten fourty seven p.m.

* * *

Gilbert opened his eyes, only to immediately close them again when he saw how bright it was. Wait, where was he? Gilbert opened his eyes again, this time leaving them open even though the bright light made him tear up. When Gilbert finally got used to the light, he could see that wherever he was it was very, very white. Eventually he stood.

"Where am I?" he asked aloud. For the first time in a while, he felt rested and well.

"You are in the house of God," a voice behind him said. Gilbert whipped around to see a figure behind him, but he couldn't make out any details other than that.

"Who are you?" Gilbert asked, shielding his eyes in an effort to see better.

"I am God." It was a simple reply, and seemed to answer everything. Gilbert would have asked more, but he also felt like he shouldn't be questioning this being.

"Did I die?" To Gilbert, the answer was obvious, but he needed to hear it.

"Yes, yes you did." For a moment he was sad, but then another thought came to his mind.

"What's going to happen to Birdie?" Gilbert used a nickname, but God knew exactly who he was talking about.

"What do you think is going to happen to him?" Gilbert thought for a moment.

"I think that you're going to leave him there, even though he did nothing wrong! He told me so himself," Gilbert almost shouted.

"Do you believe him?" God asked back. Gilbert didn't even hesitate.

"Of course I do."

"Then I think it's time that we bring him back, don't you?"

* * *

Matthew hadn't left Gilbert's side. Not even when everyone else had left, or when the nurse had taken him down to the morgue. He didn't even have the heart to pick up Kuma, so the bear just trotted right after him. The tears wouldn't stop flowing, and nothing seemed worth living for anymore. Not that he was living in the first place.

Matthew just sat on the ground next to where Gilbert laid, thinking about what could have been. If he hadn't died, would he have met Gilbert? If he hadn't been banished from heaven would he have met Gilbert there? It was to hard for Matthew to imagine a situation where Gilbert wasn't there. In such a short time a simple person had altered his life so greatly. Kuma had crawled into his lap, licking away the tears, but Matthew could hardly feel it.

He reached up and ran his hand through the bed that they had just rolled from the room down to here. He couldn't feel anything, but it was better than just holding himself at this point. Just when he felt that things couldn't be any worse, he began to feel dizzy, and the world went dark.

* * *

Where ever he was now, it was warm. That was the first thing that Matthew could manage to think. The second thing was that whatever he was laying on was extremely comfortable and soft. When he blearily opened his eyes, he was confronted with a white ceiling but it was a comforting white. He yawned, feeling as if he finally gotten a good nights sleep. Matthew stretched, yawning at the same time. His fingers brushed something light and feathery.

Feathery? That was new. Matthew looked up and saw wings. Not just any wings, but his wings. The wings that he missed so dearly from his life in heaven, the wings that took him everywhere. Even though he was rejoicing, he was also confused. How did his wings just suddenly reappear?

Matthew was distracted by the sound of a door opening and closing. Matthew turned to the side and looked in the direction that he heard, to see a sight that he never thought that he would ever see. There Gilbert stood, with wings of his own, Kumajiro at his feet, and God standing next to him. For a moment Mathew wondered if this was all a wonderful dream, but then Gilbert smiled, that amazing awesome smile that Matthew thought he would never see again and he knew that this was real, somehow it was real.

Matthew didn't even hesitate as he jumped up and ran to Gilbert. Gilbert stepped forward as well and caught Matthew easily in his arms, picking him up and spinning him around as if he weighed no more than a pound. Touch, smell, everything it was so overwhelming. After being so close and never being able to touch each other, every sense was overwhelmed with each other. Matthew could smell gunpowder and bread on Gilbert's skin. Gilbert, in turn, could smell maple syrup and pine needles.

Yet both could only think about how great and nice it was to finally be able to touch each other and hold each other after so long of wanting to. When they finally pulled apart from their hug, their eyes met and they knew what each other wanted. Their lips met in a passion of neediness and pure emotion. A cough brought them back to their senses, and they broke apart turning to God who had a smile on his face.

"It's nice to see you two finally together," he said, smiling even brighter. Matthew and Gilbert smiled back.

"What happened though? I thought I was banished from heaven," Matthew asked.

"You were confused with someone else. By the time I was made aware of the error you and Gilbert had already became friends. I knew that you two would be good for each other, so I waited," God answered his question easily.

"In real life, you two were never going to meet. Matthew would have met a nice girl, and married, while you Gilbert would have remained a bachelor and eventually you would have ended up with your good friend Francis," Matthew and Gilbert both cringed at the thought of not being with each other, "it was due to an error that you two met in the first place, but as people like to say, there are no mistakes. Maybe this was all meant to happen."

God left the two pondering his words.

* * *

Gilbert and Matthew were given a house together, and they never left each others side. Maybe it was the time that they had spent together where they could do nothing but talk, but now they were always touching, whether it was holding hands or hugging or even cuddling. The two were inseparable.

Together they welcomed their friends and family when it was their time to die. It was never a sad event for them, for sadness just didn't exist in heaven. They welcomed Ludwig and Feliciano, who had eventually got married, and they welcomed Alfred and Arthur together. Everyone who needed someone to welcome them when they entered heaven, Matthew and Gilbert were there for them. For some though, it was strange to realize that Gilbert's 'imaginary friend' was actually real.

And so ends the tale of the Angel who fell from heaven, and in the process fell in love like he never would have imagined.

Fin~


End file.
